Andhra bifurcation: Kiran Reddy asked to continue till an alternative is found

Hyderabad: It’s official now. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and his council of ministers have been asked by Governor ESL Narasimhan to stay in office till alternative arrangements are made.

“The Governor while accepting the resignation with effect from February 19, 2014, requested Sri Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy and his colleagues in the council of ministers to continue in office till alternative arrangements are made,” a press statement by the Raj Bhavan on Friday afternoon said.

This formal communication from the Governor's office comes almost 48 hours after the chief minister met Narasimhan for submitting his resignation. While leaving for Raj Bhavan on Wednesday morning, Reddy told reporters he would be requesting the Governor to find an alternative arrangement as quickly as possible.

Yesterday, the Governor had reportedly sent his report to the Union home ministry on Kiran Kumar's resignation along with the prevailing political situation in the state.

The delayed statement from Raj Bhavan indicate that the Centre may require some more time to decide on the alternative arrangement as with the passage of the AP Reorganisation Bill, leaders from both Seemandhra and Telangana have been requesting the UPA leadership to set up a new government headed by someone from among them instead of imposing President’s rule in the state.

The Union home ministry is also reportedly considering the proposal to set up two governments for the two new states following the issuance of the gazette notification by the Rashtrapati Bhavan ahead of the election schedule.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde yesterday said the ministry was working on the possible appointed date from which the two new states would come into existence, in an apparent suggestion that the alternative arrangement in place of Kiran Reddy and his council of ministers was closely linked with the political process consequent to the passage of the Telangana Bill in Rajya Sabha yesterday.